This upcoming Monday, October 14, will be our neighbors’ to the north Thanksgiving. Although Canada’s version of the holiday doesn’t receive quite the full-blown attention as it does for many families in our country, evidently there’s been a tradition developing there over the years that encourages people to leave the comforts of home and go for a walk in nature. That isn’t to say some of us here try to walk off the turkey and stuffing and pie, but nevertheless, if Canadians in the western portion of their vast land want to go exploring beyond their living quarters, they may just be close enough to one of the earth’s most beautiful treasures: Banff National Park.
From the Parks Cananda website:
Rocky Mountain peaks, turquoise glacial lakes, a picture-perfect mountain town and village, abundant wildlife and scenic drives come together in Banff National Park - Canada’s first national park and the flagship of the nation’s park system. Over three million visitors a year make the pilgrimage to the park for a variety of activities including hiking, biking, skiing and camping in some of the world’s most breathtaking mountain scenery. Banff is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Evidently, in the 1880’s, when a few men were continuing work on the Canadian Pacific Railway, they came upon majestic natural hot springs. Soon enough, it became Rocky Mountains Park of Cananda. Supposedly, it was only the third national park established in the world at that time. Over the decades since, it went from just several square miles to over 2,500, including over 1,000 miles of hiking trails.
The above image is of Lake Louise, amidst the national park, about a two-hour drive to the west of Calgary. It is believed to be the most photographed and hiked around lake in the national treasure. For many of us on this side of the border, the beautiful pictures with all the advancements in camera technology on cell phones and actual cameras will have to suffice. Not all of us, including those in Cananda, will be able to make it to the wondrous place. After all, sometimes technology can be used for good for us to explore the beauty of God’s Creation, let alone being able to share beauty of hope and peace and love with people we cannot see in-person for holiday celebrations, for instance.
And so it is with the church: we must always keep in mind people’s physical realities. Not everyone can walk on such trails around Lake Louise. A couple years ago, I heard about a man who took his elderly father to his favorite lake, for one last time for his dad to hold onto a fishing pole. He didn’t have to get out of the car. He just sat in the passenger seat the whole time, and still experienced hope and peace and love, even though his mortal time was drawing to a close. That is one life-giving way to be the church. It isn’t about “catering to the masses” for every possible circumstance. It’s about us making sure people can experience God’s hope and peace and love regardless of physical ability. Yes, if someone cannot join us in-person for worship, we bring them Communion. We live-stream worships or mail out devotions, to hopefully further proclaim the Gospel for those who cannot leave the comforts of home for whatever the reason may be.
But I still come back to that most beautiful moment between a father and son, even more beautiful than any natural landscape around us. Such moments tend to happen on Thanksgiving or other holidays, when we often come together with loved ones. But when we cannot those days or other times when we wish we could, we send cards, we make a phone call, send a text, an email with a recent picture. We let them know we care. We ensure they can still experience a hope that will keep them going, a peace that can calm a troubled soul, a love not just from us personally, but the love that came to life in Jesus Christ for all of us wherever we are in this life. Thanks be to God, indeed!
In Christ,
Pastor Brad
For more information about Banff National Park, please visit:
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff
Image: from TripAdvisor.com